The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are arguably the most iconic cheerleading team in the country. Even people who aren't Cowboys fans tune in each Thanksgiving to watch them perform at halftime. This year, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are working up a country spectacular featuring Luke Bryan (tune in to CBS at 4:30 p.m. EST on Thanksgiving to watch). But just what does it take to be one of "America's Sweethearts"? Cosmopolitan.com talked to four veteran members of the team about how they stay in such great shape, what it's really like to be a professional cheerleader, and what sacrifices they've made in order to be one of America's best dancers.
Paige
Number of Years as a DCC: 3 Occupation: Executive assistant Hometown: West Dundee, Illinois
1. You eat really, really clean.
"I try to make smart decisions without limiting myself. I stick with clean eating, chicken and turkey, having a protein and then a vegetable. If I'm craving a cookie or cupcake, I'll have a bite or two and then toss it. I try to always keep in my mind that I'm eating to live instead of living to eat.
"I had to work for my body. I'm not naturally skinny. I always have to work at it and be really conscious of my decisions. I have more energy this way, and I don't have to rely on caffeine as much. Looking is feeling great too. So if I look good or fit in my clothes a little bit different, that makes me feel a little more confident and makes waking up a lot easier." [Editor's note: Per the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders website, the team does not have specific size requirements: "You should look well proportioned in dancewear. We DO NOT have specific height and weight requirements, however, a lean figure is demanded by our uniform."]
2. You work out daily on your own time.
"I work out about three to four days a week, anywhere from an hour to two and a half hours a day. Maybe the day before a game, I'll do a Pilates class just to get that final tone in, but nothing heavy. If I had my choice, I'd probably work out twice a day. But with a full-time job and DCC at night, I only do once a day."
3. You get cool perks.
"We tan for free because our sponsor is Palm Beach and Planet Tan. We have our hair done complimentary at Halcyon [Days Salon & Spa], and we just recently joined with the Lash Lounge, so we get complimentary lash extensions."
4. After you make the team, you get a makeover.
"Once you have a decided look, you typically want to stay with that for the year because that's how people identify you. I have extremely curly hair. In my rookie year, I wore it crunchy-curly, and then I asked them if I could change it my second year from a more scrunched curl to a loose wave because I wanted something different. When I'm not doing a DCC appearance, I'll try to wear it as natural as I can so I don't burn it out when I'm curling or straightening it for DCC events."
Danielle
Number of Years as a DCC: 4 Occupation: Staffing coordinator Hometown: Long Island, New York
5. You have to be in as good of shape as any other professional athlete.
"I wore a heart monitor to one of our games to see how many calories we burn, and my heart monitor said something like 3,700 calories per game."
6. During football season, you practice about 20 hours a week in addition to game days.
"We have practice during the week from 7 p.m. to around 11 p.m. Our practices can be very intense at times. We do a warm-up every night — kick line, conditioning, some crunches — and then we are dancing for hours. And during training camp, we're practicing 30 plus hours a week. Sometimes people think that we just go out on the field and dance, but there are hours and hours of preparation and hard work and dedication to make our job look easy. People don't realize how much of a commitment it is."
7. You get really good at teasing your hair.
"I learned how to tease my hair from DCC so it looks like that typical Southern Belle hair. I'll spray first — I use Big Sexy Hair spray because it's strong — then tease it. I put it forward until I do a bunch of layers and then flip it back and brush it to tone it down a little bit."
8. Dating can be tricky.
"I always am cautious when dating, but after DCC, it's definitely something to keep your guard up about. You don't want someone to just be after that. You want to make sure they want to get to know you for who you are and not just the fact that you wear a uniform with stars and boots, and are on the field with the Cowboys. It's made me extra cautious for sure."
Jacie
Number of Years as a DCC: 4 Occupation: Freelance journalist and fitness instructor Hometown: Monroe, Louisiana
9. On occasion (like Thanksgiving) you get to veg out.
"My family will eat lunch before the game, but they'll save a little bit for me and we'll have Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, ham, dressing, gumbo because we're from Louisiana, sweet potato pie. I just pig out."
10. You do your own makeup for games.
"One thing that I swear by, especially on game days when you're sweating but still want your face to be picture perfect, is the Urban Decay setting spray. Everyone's like, 'How does your face still look so good by the end of the game?' I spray it after I put my foundation on and then again after my makeup is done. It helps keep everything in place, rain or shine."
11. You use the platform for a greater good.
"I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer, so right now, my big focus is starting a nonprofit in her honor. I've got the ball [rolling] on that right now. My big goal in my life right now is making that something more than just an idea I had in my head, using my platform for a greater purpose."
12. You probably have other full-time jobs or are going to school.
"It gets hard trying to balance everything. Not only am I a DCC, but I have two other jobs. There are so many other titles that we have and it's a matter of balancing all the lifestyles and feeling overwhelmed. That's where it gets hard. There are so many times where there's so much on our plate and it's like I need to find out how to manage my time a little bit better because I can't be 50 places at once."
Jinelle
Number of Years as a DCC: 3 Occupation: Zumba instructor, receptionist, and student Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
13. You drink a lot of water.
"I'm all about water, so I'll drink about 1.6 gallons — between 5 to 6 liters — every day. If I'm not hydrated, I can feel a lot less able to do my workouts. Water is so important and makes such a difference to your overall performance."
14. Cheering at games is only a small portion of what you do all year.
"I'm part of the show group this year, which is the top 17 out of our squad of 34, so we might travel all over the country for shows or volunteer appearances. We spend a lot of time teaching kids dance clinics. We do a USO military tour where we go and spend time with the military on the bases. Especially with the DCC, the sideline is only 10 percent of the job. It really is a 12-month experience."
15. You're not just a pretty face.
"It's not just dancing and smiling on the sidelines. We have a lot of interviews and tests. Your personality is really important, and it comes into play when they send you out to interact with media and spend time on a military base or in a hospital or interact with children. There's so much more that goes into this than people would know on the outside just by the word 'cheerleader.' This team goes so much further into the real meaning behind what a cheerleader should be."
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